Paramount executives are reportedly ready to throw themselves at a sequel to World War Z.

Paramount has reportedly started developing plans for a sequel to World War Z following a solid opening weekend in which the film has taken $112 million worldwide, $66 million of it in the US. In Australia, it has taken just over $6 million since opening last Thursday.

That wasn't enough to earn top spot in America – that went to Monsters University, with an $82 million debut – but it was surprisingly the best opening ever of a film starring Brad Pitt. It was also the best opening for an original (non-franchise) live-action (not animated) major release since Avatar in 2009.

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According to The Hollywood Reporter, the result means Paramount ''actively will turn to developing a sequel''.

That's great news not just for Pitt – who, as a producer of the film through his Plan B company, has a lot riding on it – but also vindication for director Marc Forster, whose handling of the big-budget production was the subject of rumour and speculation that led some to predict the film might go down as the "biggest flop ever".

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In Australia recently to promote the film, Forster – who also directed the James Bond film Quantum of Solace in 2008 – reflected on the bad press. ''Most of it was exaggerated and not true,'' he said.

A problem with prop weapons being confiscated in Budapest triggered much of the coverage, he insisted, but the massive budget overruns and delays reported in some quarters – originally slated as a $175 million film, a final figure of $400 million was touted by some, though Paramount officially refers to it as a $190 million film now – were, he said, purely fiction. ''I finished the movie in the amount of days I was given, so we didn't go over schedule or anything like that.''

Happy together: Brad Pitt, producer Jeremy Kleiner and director Marc Forster on the set of World War Z.

One thing that Forster didn't deny was that the decision to rewrite the final third of the film and reshoot the ending sent a message of chaos.

''Once we decided to change the ending people started to say, 'Oh the movie must be in trouble'. It wasn't that, it was just that we had this final big battle in Russia and I felt that a lot of these action movies have this big bang at the end and I just felt trying to make it bigger than [the set piece in] Israel would just make it empty.

''I said we need to try to simplify it. A lot of my other movies do it at the end, very simple and reflective. Brad and the zombie one on one. Simplicity. That would make it more like this haunted house idea.''

Forster admitted the film was conceived as part of a potential franchise. "It's definitely in the air if it works out," he said of the sequel that seems so clearly signalled by the film's conclusion. "The idea we discussed originally was maybe a trilogy. But let's see how the box office goes and then we'll go from there."

It's definitely in the air. The idea we discussed originally was maybe a trilogy. But let's see how the box office goes.

The signs certainly look positive now, so what chances he would be on board for any potential sequel?

"It's always tricky with me," the director said. "They offered me Skyfall as well and I didn't want to do another Bond movie. I like to switch genres. But in this case I definitely would leave it open. I don't want to close that door."

He also flagged that if a sequel did eventuate it was quite likely that the discarded Russian sequences might yet be brought back to life. "The visual effects need to be completed, but there's a lot there," he said. "It could definitely fit in there somewhere."

Meanwhile, in other box office news, Man of Steel continues to soar, with worldwide takings passing the $400 million mark after its second weekend in the US.

The Great Gatsby has now passed $300 million worldwide, making it far and away Baz Luhrmann's most successful film ever, well ahead of Australia's $211 million.